40 Hadiths for Religious Scholars
Below are 40 hadiths on the role, responsibilities, and duties of religious scholars.
| English | العربية |
| It is narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (p) that he said, "Verily, scholars are the heirs of Prophets. The Prophets did not come to leave behind wealth—rather, they left behind their words of wisdom. Whoever takes from them has indeed inherited a great fortune. So, be careful from whom you take your knowledge, for in every generation there are from our scholars who clear the distortions of the extremists, reject the fabrications of the false claimants, and clarify the misunderstandings of the ignorant." [Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, v. 2, p. 151] | عن الإمام الصادق (عليه السّلام): "إِنَّ الْعُلَمَاءَ وَرَثَةُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ، وَذَاكَ أَنَّ الْأَنْبِيَاءَ لَمْ يُورِثُوا دِرْهَماً ولَا دِينَاراً، وَإِنَّمَا أَوْرَثُوا أَحَادِيثَ مِنْ أَحَادِيثِهِمْ، فَمَنْ أَخَذَ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْهَا فَقَدْ أَخَذَ حَظّاً وَافِراً، فَانْظُرُوا عِلْمَكُمْ هَذَا عَمَّنْ تَأْخُذُونَهُ، فَإِنَّ فِينَا أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ فِي كُلِّ خَلَفٍ عُدُولًا يَنْفُونَ عَنْهُ تَحْرِيفَ الْغَالِينَ وانْتِحَالَ الْمُبْطِلِينَ وتَأْوِيلَ الْجَاهِلِينَ". [المجلسي، "بحار الأنوار"، ج ٢، ص ١٥١] |
| Imam al-Baqir (p) has stated: “... The scholars who betray are those who withhold from sharing advice. When they see a lost person, they do not guide him. Or, if they see a spiritually dead person, they do not revive him. How terrible is that which they do! God has taken a covenant from them in the Book that they would enjoin what they were commanded and forbid what they were prohibited from, and that they would cooperate in righteousness and piety rather than in sin and transgression …” [From the letter of Imam al-Baqir (p) to Saad al-Khayr, al-Kulayni, “al -Kafi”, v. 8., p. 52] | "... والعلماء في أنفسهم خيانة إن كتموا النصيحة، إن رأوا تائها ضالاً لا يهدونه أو ميتاً لا يحيونه، فبئس ما يصنعون! لأن الله تبارك وتعالى أخذ عليهم الميثاق في الكتاب أن يأمروا بالمعروف وبما أمروا به، وأن ينهوا عما نهوا عنه، وأن يتعاونوا على البر والتقوى ولا يتعاونوا على الإثم والعدوان..." [عن الإمام الباقر في كتابه إلى سعد الخير، الكليني، "الكافي"، ج ٨، ص ٥٢] |
| It is narrated from the Commander of Faithful (p) that he said, "Two types of people have broken my back in this world: the one with a knowledgeable tongue but a corrupt lifestyle, and a devout worshipper with an ignorant heart. The first defends his corruption with his tongue and the other defends his ignorance with his worship. So, beware of the corrupt among scholars and the ignorant among worshippers. They are the trial of every trialed one. Verily, I have heard the Messenger of God (pbuh&hp) say, ‘O' Ali, the destruction of my nation is at the hands of every hypocrite with a knowledgeable tongue.’" [Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, v. 1, p. 106] | عن أمير المؤمنين (عليه السّلام): "قطع ظهري رجلان من الدنيا: رجل عليم اللسان فاسق، ورجل جاهل القلب ناسك، هذا يصد بلسانه عن فسقه، وهذا بنسكه عن جهله، فاتقوا الفاسق من العلماء، والجاهل من المتعبدين، أولئك فتنة كل مفتون، فإني سمعت رسول الله (صلى الله عليه وآله) يقول: يا علي هلاك أمتي على يدي كل منافق عليم اللسان". [المجلسي، "بحار الأنوار"، ج ٢، ص ١٠٦] |
Imam al-Hussain (p) is narrated saying, “...The flow of affairs and rulings are in the hands of the scholars of God who preserve His teachings regarding the permissible and forbidden …” [Narrated from Imam al-Hussain (p) and the Commander of Faithful (p), “al-Harrani”, Tuhaf al-Uqool, P. 237] | "... ذلك بأن مجاري الأمور والأحكام على أيدي العلماء بالله الأمناء على حلاله وحرامه..." [روي عن الإمام الحسين (عليه السّلام) وكذلك عن أمير المؤمنين (عليه السّلام). الحرّاني، "تحف العقول"، ص ٢٣٧] |
It is narrated from the Holy Prophet (pbuh&hp) that he said, "The religion will spread far and wide, crossing seas, and people will strive in the cause of Allah. Then, there will come after you, a people who recite the Quran and say, "We have recited the Quran. There is no one more knowledgeable than us. There is no one more understanding of it than us.” Then the Prophet (pbuh&hp) turned to his companions and asked, "Is there any goodness in those people?" They replied, "No." The Prophet then said, "These will be people among you and they are examples of the verse that says "And they are the fuel of Hellfire (Quran 3:10)." [Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, v. 2, p. 109] | عن النبي الأكرم (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم): "يظهر الدين حتى يجاوز البحار، ويخاض في سبيل الله ثم يأتي من بعدكم أقوام يقرؤون القرآن يقولون: قرأنا القرآن، مَن أقرأُ منا؟ ومَن أفقه منا؟ ومَن أعلمُ منا؟. ثمّ التفت إلى أصحابه فقال: هل في أولئك من خير؟ قالوا: لا. قال: أولئك منكم من هذه الآية: ﴿وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمْ وَقُودُ النَّارِ﴾". [المجلسي، "بحار الأنوار"، ج ٢، ص ١٠٩] |
| It is narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (p) that he said, "Beware of two habits, both of which lead to one’s destruction; Beware of giving religious verdicts according to your own opinion, and beware of practicing your religion without knowing what you are practicing." He also said, "Whoever gives religious verdicts to people without knowledge and divine guidance will be cursed by both the angels of mercy and the angels of punishment, and he will bear the burden of those who followed his false verdicts." [Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, v. 2, p. 114 & 117] | عن الإمام الصادق (عليه السّلام): "إياك وخصلتين فيهما هلك من هلك: إياك أن تفتي الناس برأيك، أو تدين بما لا تعلم". وقال: "من أفتى الناس بغير علم ولا هدى من الله لعنته ملائكة الرحمة وملائكة العذاب، ولحقه وزر من عمل بفتياه". [المجلسي، "بحار الأنوار"، ج ٢، ص ١١٤ و١١٧] |
The Commander of Faithful (p) is narrated saying, “I swear by He who split the grain and created life, had people not come to me and supporters not present in front of me and if there had been no covenant God took from scholars that they should not accept the greed of the oppressors and the hunger of the oppressed I would have cast the rope of Caliphate on its own shoulders and would have left the people to themselves. Then you would know that in my view this world of yours is not more important to me than the sneeze of a goat.” [The Commander of Faithful Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (p), al-Sharif al-Radi, “Nahj al-Balaghah”, Sermon 3] | "أما والذي فلق الحبة وبرأ النسمة، لولا حضور الحاضر وقيام الحُجّة بوجود الناصر وما أخذ الله على العلماء أن لا يقارّوا على كِظَةِ ظالم ولا سَغَب مظلوم لألقيتُ حبلَها على غاربها، ولسقيتُ آخرَها بكأس أوّلها، ولألفيتم دنياكم هذه أزهد عندي من عفطة عنز" [الإمام أمير المؤمنين علي بن أبي طالب (عليه السّلام)، "نهج البلاغة"، الخطبة رقم ٣] |
It is narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (p) that he said, “Whoever worships God without having listened from a truthful scholar, God will inflict him with misguidance until his death. And, whoever claims to have listened to a scholar but from a gate other than that which God designated, then he has ascribed partners with God. Certainly, that gate is the secure gate entrusted with the hidden secret of God.” [Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, v. 2, p. 105] | عن الإمام الصادق (عليه السّلام): "من دان الله بغير سماع مِن عالِمٍ صادقٍ ألزمه الله التَّيه إلى الفناء، ومَن ادّعى سماعاً من غير الباب الذي فتحه الله لخلقه فهو مشرك، وذلك الباب هو الأمين المأمون على سرّ الله المكنون" [المجلسي، "بحار الأنوار"، ج ٢، ص ١٠٥] |
| It is narrated from the Commander of Faithful (p) that he said, "Beware of the ignorant worshippers and the corrupt scholars, for they are a trial that everyone is tested with." [Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, v. 2, p. 106] | عن أمير المؤمنين (عليه السّلام): "إياكم والجهّال من المتعّبدين، والفجّار من العلماء فإنّهم فتنة كلّ مفتون". [المجلسي، "بحار الأنوار"، ج ٢، ص ١٠٦] |
It is narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (p) that he said, "On the Day of Resurrection, God will gather mankind all on the same plain, then the scales will be placed. When the blood of the martyrs will be weighed against the ink of the scholars, the ink of the scholars will outweigh the blood of the martyrs." [Al-Bahrani, Awalim al-Ulum, v. 20, p. 710] | عن الإمام الصادق (عليه السّلام): "إذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ جَمَعَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ النَّاسَ فِي صَعِيدٍ وَاحِدٍ وَ وُضِعَتِ الْمَوَازِينُ، فَتُوزَنُ دِمَاءُ الشُّهَدَاءِ مَعَ مِدَادِ الْعُلَمَاءِ فَيَرْجَحُ مِدَادُ الْعُلَمَاءِ عَلَى دِمَاءِ الشُّهَدَاءِ". [البحراني، "عوالم العلوم"، ج ٢٠، ص ٧١٠] |